GRAND RAPIDS, MI - A friend of Jeff Dykehouse, the Grand Rapids man who was hit by a car and died July 9 while biking in Ada Township, said he performed CPR on Dykehouse following the accident and prayed for his survival.

Mike Peskin

“I just kept praying that he would breathe, that Jesus would help him,” said Mike Peskin, 57, of Ada Township, who was biking a short distance behind Dykehouse, 51, when the crash occurred. “It just didn’t happen.”

In an interview Saturday night, Peskin described the awful moments following the accident, how paramedics tried using a defibrillator to revive Dykehouse, and his long relationship with a man who was “like family” to him.

Peskin said he’s been friends with Dykehouse since the '80s, when the two bonded over their love of dirt bikes and motor sports. They both went to Grandville High School, but it wasn’t until later that their friendship blossomed.

Peskin was drawn to Dykehouse’s adventurous spirit, which eventually led the two – along with other friends – to travel throughout the U.S. They snowboarded in Colorado, white water rafted in West Virginia and hiked through canyons in Utah.

“He was really creative and really adventurous,” said Peskin, an HVAC tech at Northview Public Schools.

On the day Dykehouse died, the two had made plans to go mountain biking at Cannonsburg State Game Area. Peskin, recalling Dykehouse’s athletic ability, knew he was in for a workout. He likened a day on the trails with Dykehouse to a “hound dog running behind a car.”

As Peskin rode north on Egypt Valley Road toward the trail head, he saw another biker a little ways ahead of him. The biker had just turned onto Egypt Valley from 3 Mile Road and was heading north toward 4 mile Road. Thinking Dykehouse was already at the trail, Peskin suspected it was just another biker.

Just a few minutes later, after the biker was out of sight, Peskin heard a loud bang. At first he thought a car’s tire had exploded, but the true cause soon became clear: the bicyclist he just saw had been hit.

And that bicyclist was no stranger. It was Dykehouse.

“I freaked,” Peskin recalled.

A passerby was doing chest compressions by the time Peksin reached the scene. He soon lent a hand and performed mouth-to-mouth on Dykehouse, but it didn’t work. Dykehouse’s lungs wouldn’t fill with air.

“I couldn’t think of what else to do, so I started praying,” Peskin said.

Paramedics, who arrived later, tried to revive Dykehouse using a defibrillator.
Still nothing. Finally, paramedics placed a white sheet over his body, saying there was nothing left they could do.

Peskin said he’s still struggling to come to terms with the loss of Dykehouse.

He was widely respected in Grand Rapids’ photography community for starting
“Emily’s Big Picture Project,” which provided free family portraits of those with dying children. The project was a tribute to his daughter who, at 14-months-old, died of leukemia.

Dykehouse also did volunteer work for the Kent County Sheriff’s Department Traffic Squad, and was featured in a 2012 Grand Rapids Press/ MLive.com series on justifiable homicide. In 2007, he shot and killed an intruder who broke into his home on South Division Avenue.

Peskin remembered Dykehouse for his spontaneity, and his willingness to follow his passions wherever they took him.

He said Dykehouse had the smarts to work as an associate dean at Davenport University, but was also willing to drop everything and move to Florida as a scuba diving guide.

“He was just so fun to be with,” Peskin said. “I’m going to miss having fun with him.”

He was also modest. Peskin recalled how Dykehouse once won an award for his photography, but told few of his friends or family about the accomplishment.

“He was almost like a guy who had stuff to hide,” Peskin said. “But the stuff about him was the stuff other guys would brag about.”

Brian McVicar covers education for MLive and The Grand Rapids Press. Email him at bmcvicar@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter